Saturday, December 7, 2013

Skinnying Up A Fat Planner

When that happens, I put it on a diet. Here are so things you can do when the planner is overstuffed:

1. Go through the papers that you are storing in the front pocket. Can anything be copied into the planner and tossed? Can anything be filed away at home? Is anything out-of-date or irrelevant now?

2. Put your dashboard on a diet.

Normally, I keep at least five blank pieces of paper in my dashboard area. Sometimes, especially right after I reload the paper, it's more than that and some can be removed.

3. Go through projects and file away or toss any that are no longer active.

This week, I was able to file away (with my planner pages from last year) Thanksgiving. Note that I kept it, in case I need to refer to it next year. I tossed the project for my friend's surprise party, since I was in charge of the guest list only and had no use for that same list in the future.

4. Use fewer months of planner pages.

I keep three to five months in my planner at a time. But with a bulging Christmas project, I barely have room for four months right now.

5. Check out notes pages for things can be filed or deleted.

Right now, none of my notes pages can be removed. The truth is that I am very picky about what gets to go into my precious planner so there isn't anything to cull. 6. Remove some stuff from the supplies that you carry in your planner.

I used sticky notes and stamps everywhere, but I only use my hole punch at home, so it doesn't get stored in my planner.

7. Remove bookmarks that are too bulky.

Just leave the ones that you truly use all the time.

8. Use thinner, unlaminated tabs for most things.

Heavy paper doesn't take up too much space. I still keep one plastic (translation: thick) piece in my planner, to maintain the shape of the pages, but only one.

9. Consider a second planner or space for things like coupons and wallet materials.

10. As a last resort, get a planner with bigger rings. It will still be heavy, but won't take up as much space as a bigger planner.

3 comments:

I only carry 2 months of daily pages in my planner. I always have the current month, of course. Then from the 1st to the 15th, I have the previous month's pages. Around the 15th, I remove the previous month and add the next month. Most of my advance planning is done on my monthly pages. If I need more for a future month, I put it on a post-it on the back of the monthly calendar it applies to or I add a blank piece of paper behind the appropriate month and temporarily record the info there. That doesn't happen very often, though.

A while back I decorated my pages with washi tape. I had never done that before. It was fun but it took a lot of time and I noticed it made my pages thicker. I haven't done it anymore. Once in a while I might add a sticker or a piece of washi tape but nothing like I did that month. Pretty pages are nice but they weren't practical for me.

Hi Giftie. After lurking in the shadows for a month or so, I have to say I love your blog! It's the first feed I check each morning. :) Post after post, it just gets better. Thanks for that! I feel like I have found a kindred spirit that wouldn't think my paper planner obsession is weird.

My combined original FC classic planner (like your brown one) just went on a diet of sorts--work (that I leave on my desk) became a Filo A5 original black and personal (that doesn't leave my side ) a Filo personal original green. (I've gotten many strange looks from my family due to my smelling and touching issues!) My goal is to get back to high functionality...only at the bare basics at the moment. Thanks for inspiring me daily.

I also have to mention that I have been "mildly" obsessed with your purple file master wallet. It took me two days to find a similar one online (Kohls and Sears) in any color, but I found some. I bought my self 1 and then 4 more for Christmas presents. Btw, they seem to be selling out all over. So now I am going find a few more to hoard for myself just in case! Thanks for the new obsession. :)